Worldwide Demand for Wi-Fi/Cellular Combo Phones Worldwide Demand for Wi-Fi/Cellular Combo Phones
Abstract Cellphones have been available now for over 20 years, and as more and more competitors enter the cellphone market, manufacturers of phones have been involved in a quest to differentiate themselves from the others and include as much technology in their handsets as possible. Several years ago, after handsets started adopting cameras and Bluetooth, the first handsets incorporating Wi-Fi started to appear. Most of these Wi-Fi/cellular handsets were either GSM or WCDMA phones, and most still are today, but a few CDMA phones have taken on Wi-Fi as well.
Once a few handsets started appearing with Wi-Fi in them, it wasn’t long before the idea of combining Wi-Fi and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) came along, and this was a very natural evolution in a cellular handset, as voice was and remains the "killer application." Some handsets started to employ SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) which was an open standard that some VoIP providers have incorporated. Other handsets started adopting another standard which is also built on SIP called UMA (Universal Mobile Access). UMA incorporates SIP but also adds on other modifications so that the handset can seamlessly roam between a VoIP network and a cellular network.
Product Number: IN0703888WS Service: Wi-Fi Markets Publication Date: May 2007 Number of Pages: 44 Analyst: Allen Nogee Price: $3,495 U.S. Dollars Read Press Release
